► Accurate formation pressure estimation is important to drilling and production operations and necessary for reservoir engineering calculations. Methods developed to estimate formation pressure from well…
(more)

▼ Accurate formation pressure estimation is important to drilling and production operations and necessary for reservoir engineering calculations. Methods developed to estimate formation pressure from well logs are reliable for conventional reservoirs but do not translate well to unconventionals. Due to a limited hydraulic connectivity between the organic matter (kerogen) pore network and the inorganic matrix pore network holding the stored hydrocarbons, current methods may not accurately estimate the magnitude of overpressure in source rocks and unconventional targets in mature basins.
In this work, a pressure estimation method is developed mainly using data from porosity logs. The proposed method is applied to areas in the Delaware Basin to demonstrate the presence of overpressure in the Bone Spring Sands and Wolfcamp formation. Validation pressure measurements based on DST, flowback, and managed pressure drilling data through multiple horizons indicate the weak transport coupling of the 3rd Bone Spring Sands and Wolfcamp horizons while also demonstrating a reliable method to estimate formation pressures using sonic well logs. The estimated overpressures in the Delaware Basin demonstrate a strong correlation with previously measured kerogen maturity and indicate that hydrocarbon generation is the significant source of the recognized present day overpressure.
Advisors/Committee Members: Akkutlu, Yucel (advisor), Weijermars, Ruud (committee member), Pantano, John (committee member).

► Here is a summary and a overview on the topic: development prospects oil and gas rich countries. Oil and gas are natural resources that hold…
(more)

▼ Here is a summary and a overview on the topic: development prospects oil and gas
rich countries.
Oil and gas are natural resources that hold an important role in the global economic stage. Many of the prices and daily transactions are affected and dictated by the price of oil in the market.
Oil is very important because not only is it a marker for the economy but it is very useful in its various forms, as kerosene, fuels and other forms of energy. This gives oil a bigger part to play in the lives of people as it has become one of the necessities of living either in its crude form or as a refined product.
In recent years, the demand for oil has risen even more because of discoveries in its usefulness in areas such as medicine and engineering.
There are many countries blessed with the resource of oil and also there are countries who may not have oil but play a very important role in the manufacturing and processing of oil to become a useful resource.
Oil is not a blessing in all the cases, in the economic sense, any shock or fall in the oil price affects the market prices generally.
Also, some countries have benefitted greatly from oil discovery while others hve suffered from over dependent on oil and neglect of other natural resources as evident in many African countries. Nevertheless, the alternatives produced from oil have made life more convenient.
Countries such as Norway, UAE, Kuwait have profited from their discovery of oil as they used the profits generated to diversify their economies and reduce the dependence on oil.
In contrast, countries such as Nigeria and Libya have neglected other natural resources and have become over dependent on oil resources. This has led to an imbalance in their economies because the national income is focused mainly on oil while other likely sources of income like tourism are neglected creating socio-economic and political problems such as corruption, wars and poverty
Countries like the United States are the major consumers of oil and gas products because of the high level of technology and need for energy. The United States trades with many oil-producing countries and can be identified as one of the biggest players in the oil industry.
Multinational companies such as BP, Shell, Chevron are also important as they have established refineries and drills to process and manufacture oil from all over the world.
Oil is a vital part of todays economy and the demand will continue to be high, but for some countries like Nigeria, it could be a curse and the lack of it in its natural form could be helpful in guiding the country toward other means of income like agriculture and tourism and in the long run eliminate socio-economic and political issues.
Advisors/Committee Members: Pásztor, Szabolcs (advisor).

► Located between Malibu and Santa Barbara on the Pacific Ocean, the City of Ventura, California has in the past been known for its vast oil…
(more)

▼ Located between Malibu and Santa Barbara on the Pacific Ocean, the City of Ventura, California has in the past been known for its vast oil production, yet is now known for its surfing breaks, progressive environmentalism and a thriving arts district. As a coastal community conscious about vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change and resource depletion such as oil, this study looks to follow the 2007 Post-Peak Oil Vision Planning effort with the intention of identifying main factors and barriers affecting the implementation of a follow-up community action plan. Inherent within any study looking at implementing community action are the challenges in understanding human behavior, lifestyle and what motivates change.
Fifteen semi-structured interviews with key decision makers and community members throughout the city were conducted with the intention of identifying barriers against and factors supporting the implementation of a post-peak oil and climate change community action plan. Interview transcripts were analyzed through the content/inductive analysis method, developing overarching themes amongst the interviewee responses to identify barriers and supporting factors specific to the City of Ventura.
Major findings show how important it is to have a champion within local government to facilitate the political will required to procuring and allocating funding toward the planning process including successful implementation. Integration of post-peak oil and climate change action planning guidelines and principals into policy driven documents like the City of Ventura???s General Plan is vital to the success of implementation while also breaking down silos within local government to further integrate throughout all departments. Educating the wider community to facilitate the awareness required for positive behavioral and lifestyle change increases the capacity of people and communities to fully participate and create buy-in leading to successful implementation. Strong community partnerships, information sharing and deep community participation set the foundation for implementation to be successful.
Advisors/Committee Members: Mulley, Susan (advisor), Taylor, Gerald (committee member).

LaFay, T. (2016). Factors and barriers affecting a post-peak oil and climate change community action plan for the City of Ventura, California. (Masters Thesis). California State Polytechnic University – Pomona. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/169023

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

LaFay, Tyrone. “Factors and barriers affecting a post-peak oil and climate change community action plan for the City of Ventura, California.” 2016. Masters Thesis, California State Polytechnic University – Pomona. Accessed June 07, 2020.
http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/169023.

MLA Handbook (7th Edition):

LaFay, Tyrone. “Factors and barriers affecting a post-peak oil and climate change community action plan for the City of Ventura, California.” 2016. Web. 07 Jun 2020.

LaFay T. Factors and barriers affecting a post-peak oil and climate change community action plan for the City of Ventura, California. [Masters Thesis]. California State Polytechnic University – Pomona; 2016. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10211.3/169023

University of Ghana

4.
Asare, A.E.Discovery of Oil in African Countries: Blessing or Curse to the Indigenous Citizens?
.

► For a nation to grow faster, it must direct its oil revenue on pro-poor investment. It must be noted also that, reforms in the health…
(more)

▼ For a nation to grow faster, it must direct its oil revenue on pro-poor investment. It must be noted also that, reforms in the health and educational sectors are cornerstones of a nation. This means that investment in health and education is so important that a country should dedicate its natural resource revenue towards these sectors. The emphasis on investment in health and education cannot be taken for granted.
As a result, this study empirically examines the influence of natural resource (oil) rent on pro-poor investment in Africa. The research used data from the World Bank’s World Development indicators and polity IV dataset for 17 African countries over the period 2000 to 2017. The study employed a simple pair-wise correlation estimation technic in the estimation. Taking the level of democracy and oil production level into consideration, the study found that oil rent influences pro-poor investment in one way or the other in Africa. The study also reveals that the democracy level plays a role in the oil rent-pro poor investment nexus, particularly investment in education. To be specific, increase in oil rent tend to increase educational investment in democratic years but detrimental to educational investment in autocratic years. We, thus, conclude that, for natural resource (oil) revenue to be effective in enhancing pro-poor investment, it requires a complementary democratic environment in Africa.
The study, therefore, points out the need for domestic policymakers of oil-producing African countries to concentrate on the exploration of oils resource in their respective countries alongside ensuring democratic environment.

Asare, A. E. (2019). Discovery of Oil in African Countries: Blessing or Curse to the Indigenous Citizens?
. (Masters Thesis). University of Ghana. Retrieved from http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/handle/123456789/32614

Chicago Manual of Style (16th Edition):

Asare, A E. “Discovery of Oil in African Countries: Blessing or Curse to the Indigenous Citizens?
.” 2019. Masters Thesis, University of Ghana. Accessed June 07, 2020.
http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/handle/123456789/32614.

Asare AE. Discovery of Oil in African Countries: Blessing or Curse to the Indigenous Citizens?
. [Masters Thesis]. University of Ghana; 2019. Available from: http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/handle/123456789/32614

Universidad de Cantabria

5.
Ruiz García, Miguel.
Effects of ASE noise and total injected power on Optical Injection Locking.

▼ Optical Injection Locking (OIL) phenomena has substantial importance in commu- nications systems, making stable locking with low injected power a major challenge. Additional considerations involve that nature of oscillations in the lasers is random, provoked by temperature and spontaneous noise.
An OIL setup was constructed in order to get stable injection locking with the low- est input power from the master laser. Moreover, with the aim of improving this parameter, a phase locked loop (PLL) was developed. This addition requires the initial setup to include a modulator, that in this case works at 6 GHz. The mod- ulation was verified, ensuring that side bands are distanced enough, preventing the slave laser from locking at unwanted frequency.
Previous studies show that there is an optimum input slave power that minimizes the phase noise. We measure the phase noise applying two type of power at the input, ASE noise and master laser power. The experiment aims to discover the pa- rameter that limits the OIL, whether it is the total input power into the slave laser (keeping OSNR constant) or the master power. An appropriate topology was used to differentiate between the different sources of power. The main reason to design this experiment is advance in the understanding of the factors that influence OIL. To achieve this, we prepared two set of measurements tuning different parameters. The first test keeps ASE noise power constant while the master laser power is swept. For the second test, OSNR is fixed and total power is changed.
Comparing the resu rovide knowledge on the behaviour of the locking bandwidth.
Advisors/Committee Members: Kakarla, Ravikiran (advisor), Universidad de Cantabria (other).

► My thesis exhibition investigates concepts of memory and memorial. These are fueled by feelings of yearning, longing, and nostalgia. We allow memories to linger. I…
(more)

▼ My thesis exhibition investigates concepts of memory and memorial. These are fueled by feelings of yearning, longing, and nostalgia. We allow memories to linger. I believe we try to strengthen these memories, encase them and tuck them away deep in our minds. These memories create in our psyche psychological memorials. Like physical memorials, our memories too deteriorate and crumble over time. We fill in the gaps to the point where it is unknown just how true these memories are. At times I think that mine are now idealized and idyllic then they really were. The paintings in my exhibit are physical manifestations of my own psychological memorials. “The geometry of thought echoes the geometry of the room.” With that quote in mind, my works are abstracted from three components found in the traditional Japanese home. The three components are the tokonoma, the shoji screen, and the landscape.

► The oil industry is responsible for massive amounts of pollution across the world. A significant amount of this is due to the impact of large…
(more)

▼ The oil industry is responsible for massive amounts of pollution across the world. A significant amount of this is due to the impact of large infrastructure created by drilling operations, which are hostile work environments and often damage the ecosystem they inhabit. Because Oil is one of the primary energy sources around the world its continued exploitation is guaranteed to happen for decades to come. As technological advancements facilitate new ways to obtain oil for the ever increasing demand, old facilities and their megastructures are abandoned with no plan for re-use.
This thesis is an exploration into architecture’s current role as a facilitator of offshore oil infrastructure. It explores the scale of investment for the multi-national corporations and how this investment is disposed of after there is no more oil in the well. More often than not there is little consideration as to what happens after the drilling and this causes a multitude of problems that push the area closer to the brink of ecological disaster.
The design project proposes deploying new machinery onto an architectural construction to develop a symbiotic relationship between the two. The way new machinery interacts with the architecture it inhabits is considered by discussing the life cycle of current technology and what future developments might hold for the sustainability of coastal regions.
Advisors/Committee Members: Abreu E Lima, Daniele.

► Solvent free microwave extraction (SFME) has been demonstrated to be feasible in extraction of essential oils from botanical materials. The benefits are no need for…
(more)

▼ Solvent free microwave extraction (SFME) has been demonstrated to be feasible in extraction of essential oils from botanical materials. The benefits are no need for any solvent aside from the water naturally in the botanical material and a significant reduction in environmental impact for large scale production processes. However, the aerosol formed by the microwave energy applied to the plant material is inefficiently collected with common condensers. Air coming from the open ends of extraction systems creates the boundary layer effects for the condenser, which makes essential oil collecting inefficient. To solve this problem, the development of a direct contact condenser is in development for the collection step. My research is to model the collision between the aerosol particles and the liquid droplets from the spray nozzles in the direct contact condenser. The goal in this project is to improve the collection efficiency by increasing adequate collision between the two sorts of droplets. Through the use of the model program developed, the collection efficiency of direct contact condenser will be improved to increase production oil.
Based on our computation, a bigger oil droplet leads to a greater captured fraction of oil aerosol, while the bigger water droplet decreases the captured fraction with fixed volume flow rate of water. Meanwhile, an easy way to collect more mint oil is to employ a lot of sprays to increase the rows of water droplets. However, this result is needed to be justified by more computations with a large number of oil aerosols.
Advisors/Committee Members: Hackleman, David (advisor), Chang, Chih-hung (committee member).

► The objective of this study was to evaluate the reduction of Salmonella enterica and the prevention of cross-contamination on romaine lettuce leaves in wash water…
(more)

▼ The objective of this study was to evaluate the reduction of Salmonella enterica and the prevention of cross-contamination on romaine lettuce leaves in wash water treated with oregano essential oil, acetic acid, or their combination. Whole leaves spot inoculated with Salmonella were mixed with uninoculated leaves at ambient temperatures. Surviving levels on the leaves and the amount transferred to uninoculated leaves were determined at 2, 5, and 10 min. The combination treatment was generally more effective in reducing Salmonella levels and reducing cross-contamination than its singular components and after 10 min was not significantly different than the chlorine. Additionally, Salmonella reduction on inoculated fresh cut lettuce by the combination treatment and other sanitizers was compared. The combination treatment reduction (2.41 cfu/g) was not significantly different from chlorine (1.83 cfu/g). These results suggest the 0.02% oregano essential oil and 1% acetic acid treatment has potential as a small scale natural wash alternative.
Advisors/Committee Members: Mark A. Harrison.

▼ Understanding mineralogy and surface properties of
fine solids is vital in oil sands processing and tailings
management. Fine solids in oil sands are often contaminated by
tightly bound organic matter (OM) originally or during hydrocarbon
removal, thereby increasing surface hydrophobicity and making its
characterization problematic. The surface properties of solids
affect the entire process cycle of obtaining synthetic crude oil
from surface-mined oil sands using a water-based extraction
process, and managing produced tailings. In this study, low
temperature ashing (LTA) was found to be a more suitable method
than hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for OM removal from clay sized
minerals (CSM) because of its selectivity for decomposing only
organics. The mineralogy and cation exchange capacity of the CSM
remained unaffected after treatment with LTA as opposed to H2O2
treatment. To comprehend the organo-mineral interactions in oil
sands, solids isolated from weathered and oil sands having low- and
high-fine solids content were examined. Low-fines ore possessed the
lowest amount of organic coated solids and highest bitumen
recovery. The solids in the bitumen froth from these ores were of
less quartz, more carbonates, transition metals and carbon than the
solids in the corresponding tailings. Infrared spectra showed a
likely association between OM and carbonates in the organic coated
solids isolated from bitumen froth. Weathered ores were found to
contain more organic coated solids which were observed to reduce
bitumen recovery from these oil sands ores. A further study of
weathered ores was undertaken to understand the reason for its poor
processability from a mineralogical perspective. A higher amount of
divalent cations was found in weathered ores than in high- and
low-fines ores. The low-fines ore was found to exhibit the highest
kaolinitic to illitic mineral ratio, while the high-fines ore
displayed the lowest ratio. Siderite and pyrite were observed in
the solids isolated from weathered and high-fines ores, but were
absent in low-fines ores. In addition to wettability, the poor
processability of weathered ores appeared to be related to the
interactions between the divalent cations and illite, and the
cementation effect of the siderite concretions on the oil sand
grains, which inhibited bitumen liberation. Corrensite, a
mixed-layer chlorite-vermiculite, was detected for the first time
in weathered ores.

► The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico between April and July 2010 demonstrated the importance of synoptic oil-spill monitoring in coastal environments…
(more)

▼ The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico between April and July 2010 demonstrated the importance of synoptic oil-spill monitoring in coastal environments via remote-sensing methods. This study focuses on terrestrial oil-spill detection based on hyperspectral images acquired along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. A number of AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) imaging spectrometer images were investigated in this research collected over Bay Jimmy and Wilkinson Bay within Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA during September 2010.
Various remote-sensing image processing techniques were employed to detect/identify oiled vegetation. Image-derived endmembers were extracted from the atmospherically- and geometrically-corrected hyperspectral AVIRIS data via Minimum Noise Fraction transform, Pixel Purity Index generation, and n-dimensional visualization. Extracted endmembers are then used as input to endmember-mapping algorithms Spectral Information Divergence (SID) and Mixture Tuned Matched Filtering (MTMF) to yield fractional-abundance images and crisp classification images. Field based observations of the degree of oil accumulation along the coastline were also employed, as well as in situ measurements from the literature.
Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (MESMA) was employed for oiled-vegetation detection and mapping in order to enable the number and types of endmembers to vary on a per-pixel basis, in contrast to simple Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA). MESMA thus better allows accounting for spectral variability of oil (e.g., due to varying oil thicknesses, states of degradation, and the presence of different oil types, etc.) and other materials, including soils and salt marsh vegetation of varying types, which may or may not be affected by the oil spill. The classification results demonstrated that MESMA provides advantageous capabilities for mapping several oiled-vegetation classes along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, relative to the conventional approaches tested.
Advisors/Committee Members: Filippi, Anthony M (advisor).

► The oil marketing industry in Kenya has undergone major changes in the recent years. One of the major changes has been an upsurge of competition…
(more)

▼ The oil marketing industry in Kenya has undergone major changes in the recent years.
One of the major changes has been an upsurge of competition in the sector; this has been
attributed to the high entry levels of private investors into the sector. Competition in the
provision of this service is cut throat, with this the operators have been forced to adopt
response strategies to survive. This is what inspired this study, to look at the effect of
response strategies on competitiveness of oil marketing companies. The objectives of the
study were to determine the response strategies adopted by oil marketing Companies in
Kenya, and to establish the effects of the response strategies on the competitiveness of
the oil marketing firms. The study adopted a descriptive cross sectional survey design.
The target population of the study comprised all 36 oil marketing companies in Kenya.
Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The
study established that the oil marketing companies adopted differentiation and
diversification strategies to a greater extent. It was also established that these response
strategies had an effect on the competitiveness of the marketing firm to a great extent.
Differentiation strategy posed a challenge during the implementation process due to the
exorbitant implementation cost of the strategy and the ever changing customer needs.
From the regression analysis, the response strategies affected competitiveness of the
companies greatly to 67%. Therefore there is need for a study to be conducted on the
factors influencing competitiveness of Oil Marketing Companies in Kenya. This study
will be of significant in identifying the effectiveness of the response strategies on
competitiveness.
v

►Oil drilling requires that miles of steel drill pipe, called the drill string, be exposed to fatigue loading and corrosive environments. Furthermore, it has been…
(more)

▼Oil drilling requires that miles of steel drill pipe, called the drill string, be exposed to fatigue loading and corrosive environments. Furthermore, it has been reported that pitting corrosion is responsible for initiating catastrophic drillstring failure. Pitting corrosion is responsible for initiating fatigue cracks, with pits acting as local stress raisers. This project investigates the pitting corrosion susceptibility and influence on fatigue life of high strength low alloy drillstring steels S-135 and UD-165 in a simulated drilling completion fluid, 6.7 M CaCl₂.
Immersion test results show that both alloys are susceptible to pitting corrosion and a non-protective film of hydrated rust (FeOOH) was found. Non-metallic inclusions are well known to initiate pits in carbon steels. Preliminary testing of S-135 shows inclusions rich in Mn and S, while UD-165 shows inclusions rich in either Fe, Al and O, or Nb and C.
Potentiodynamic scans of both alloys show active dissolution. Cyclic voltrammetry results shows a repassivation potential in the cathodic region. Through potentiostatic testing pit growth was found to be independent of anodic polarization time, meaning pit growth was unachievable through anodic polarization. Shallow, wide pits (3-5μm deep, 10-50μm wide) were only observed after the potentiostatic anodic polarization.
Fatigue testing was performed on three surface treatments: 1) virgin 2) pitted by galvanostatic methods, and 3) pitted by galvanostatic methods, dried and left in the laboratory (20°C, 20-40% humidity) for 14 days. Statistical testing by Student's t-tests showed that UD-165 had a statistically significant drop in fatigue life for 1) virgin samples against 2) pitted samples while no significant drop was found for S-135. Both UD-165 and S-135 showed no statistically significant drop in fatigue life for 1) virgin samples against 3) samples pitted and left in the laboratory for 14 days.
Advisors/Committee Members: Kruzic, Jay (advisor), Warnes, William (committee member).

► Although the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acid in reducing the risk of various of human diseases, such as hypertriglyceridemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,…
(more)

▼ Although the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acid in reducing the risk of various of human diseases, such as hypertriglyceridemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, have been demonstrated in clinical and pre-clinical studies, the mechanism of its action is poorly understood.
several studies has been reported that Dietary supplementation with fish oil induces many changes in plasma TG profile.
N-3 fatty acid found in fish oil has been reported that reduce plasma TG and VLDL lev- els. Intercellular lipid droplets is the key regulator of plasma fatty acids and lipoproteins level.
Here we show that n-3 fatty acid supplementation triggers intercellular lipid droplets degradation independent from known fatty acid mobilization pathways namely lipophagy and lipolysis .
ATGL and HSL are consider as two major lipolysis enzymes.SiRNA study of these two lipolysis enzymes did not attenuate lipid droplets degradation.
Lipophagy has been reported as a selective mechanism for degradation of lipid droplets during the starvation condition. Knock down of autophagy (macroautophagy) related pro- teins, could not block degradation of intercellular lipids by EPA.
Degradation of lipid droplets is lysosomes dependent and requires lysosomal motility machinery. Lysosomes are interacting directly with lipid droplets during the process that is similar to kiss and run pattern.
The morphological examination of this process by electron microscopy indicated its re- semblance to microautophagy like structure.
Importantly, (over expression) Arl8b which has been shown that play a role in peripheral distribution of lysosomes along with FYCO1, specifically accelerates the effect of EPA on degradation of intercellular lipid droplets independent from its role in engagement of lysosomal plus end distribution.
in particular, Arl8b recruited HOPS protein complex in EPA dependent fashion and si- lencing of HOPS complex interfered with normal lysosomal degradation of lipid droplets. Thus, this finding reveals new mechanism for intercellular lipid mobilization and offer an explanation for the therapeutic benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

▼ Environmental pollution from oilfield drilling waste poses potential hazards which can lead to ecological imbalance. The predominant pollutant from oilfield waste is petroleum hydrocarbons. Some effects of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in soil include loss of nutrients, reduced fertility, foul odour, flora/fauna imbalance and potential for transport and distribution to other media. Several studies have been carried out to develop technologies for the reduction of petroleum hydrocarbons in oil based mud (OBM) drill cuttings and soil. Soil washing using biosurfactant is one of such technological developments. Biosurfactants are surface active compounds produced from biological origin. They are amphiphilic molecules, consisting of hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties. The major advantage biosurfactants have over their synthetic counterpart is that they have low toxicity and are biodegradable. They can be produced from natural and renewable feedstock (agricultural and industrial waste). This work focused on the production, purification and characterisation of rhamnolipid (RL) biosurfactant, produced from Pseudomonas aeruginosa ST5 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PS1, and its consequent application for the removal of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in OBM drill cuttings and petroleum contaminated soil. First, the OBM drill cuttings and soil were characterised to investigate the following parameters; particle size analysis by laser diffraction and sieve, morphology and elemental content (qualitative) by Scanning Electron Microscope - Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM-EDXA), elemental content by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis (quantitative), hydrocarbon profile by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and TPH by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). Second, the rhamnolipid was produced from both bacteria using mineral salts media with glycerol as carbon source in shake flask cultivation process. Approximately 3.5 g/L yield of crude ST5 rhamnolipid extract (ST5-RL) was determined from the culture broth from Ps. ST5 and PS1. Thin layer chromatography analysis carried out on the crude ST5 rhamnolipid extract detected two fractions with retardation factors 0.76 and 0.39, which were purified by column chromatography and confirmed to be monorhamnolipid (R1) and dirhamnolipid (R2) respectively, consequent upon structural characterization using FTIR, NMR and LC-MS/MS. The surfactant potential of R1, R2 and ST5-RL were determined by investigating their surface active properties such as critical micelle concentration (where R1 = 28 ppm, R2 = 24 ppm and ST5-RL = 48 ppm), surface tension and emulsification index after 24 hours (E24). The crude ST5 rhamnolipid, R1 and R2 were applied for the removal of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in diesel contaminated soil at 10, 100 and 1000 ppm concentration levels. R1 and R2 both showed TPH removals at approximately 77% at 10 ppm, approximately 87% at 100 ppm and approximately 91% at 1000 ppm. However, ST5-RL showed over 90%…

► The effects of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill on the bacterial communities in coastal sediments are relatively known but few studies have been published…
(more)

▼ The effects of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill on the bacterial communities in coastal sediments are relatively known but few studies have been published evaluating the impacts of the spill on oil-degrading bacterial populations in the salt marsh sediments of Barataria Bay, Louisiana. The aims of this study were to determine the effects of the oil spill on the microbial community in Barataria Bay, Louisiana through the determination of predominate species of oil-degrading bacteria in marsh sediments, and to determine how well certain bacterial isolates can degrade crude oil in the region by taking samples from three areas of different oiling categories in April 2012, October 2012 and April 2013, approximately 24, 30, and 36 months after the initial oiling event. Hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria were isolated from the sediment samples using Bushnell Haas (BH) agar enriched with 1% Light Louisiana Sweet (LLS) crude oil. The isolates were subsequently purified on LB agar plates, their genomic DNAs extracted, and 16S rRNA genes amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products of 16S rRNA were then sequenced and taxonomically classified based on similarity to known sequences in BLAST database. A total of 460 isolates were obtained, representing 84 species from 45 genera in 6 phyla. Oil degradability of 10 bacterial isolates, designated to Staphylococcus xylosus, Acinetobacter calcoaetious, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Bacillus pumilus, Micrococcus luteus, Rhodococcus equi, Microbacterium esteratomaticum, Vibrio sp., Pseudomonas mendocina, and Agromyces aurantiacus, respectively, was tested in LB broth with 1% LLS crude oil. Their growth and metabolic properties in terms of optical density at 600 nm and pH in culture medium were monitored for 6 days. Among these isolates, Micrococcus luteus, Vibrio sp., Bacillus pumilus, Rhodococcus equi and Microbacterium esteratomaticum appeared to have the greatest ability to degrade LLS crude oil; their growth rates were estimated to be 0.038, 0.037, 0.031, 0.029 and 0.037 per hour, respectively. All isolates showed a decrease in pH in their culture medium during their growth, with M. esteratomaticum having the lowest pH of 5.29 and R. equi having the highest pH of 6.50 at 96 hours of incubation. A decrease in pH in the cultured media is indicative of an accumulation of acid from oxidation reactions carried out by oil-degrading bacteria. The present study provided a comprehensive list of indigenous oil-degrading bacteria in Louisiana marsh sediment, which is critical in developing bioremediation strategies.

► Crude oil has been increasing in world demand over the past century. It is known that oil is resistant to weathering processes and if spilled,…
(more)

▼ Crude oil has been increasing in world demand over the past century. It is known that oil is resistant to weathering processes and if spilled, can cause serious environmental damage to an area, on land or sea. A complementary approach to current methods of tracking oil and identifying spill-impacted sediments may be to measure trace metals associated with crude oil. Trace metals, such a vanadium (V) and nickel (Ni) are known to be elevated in concentration in some oil sources, but little work has been done on this topic. This research explored less expensive and time-consuming methods to track or identify an oil spill-impacted area using the trace metals V and Ni that would serve as a complementary method to current GC/MS analyses. Using a ratio of extractable V and Ni versus conservative background elements found in abundance in sediments where this ratio may change as a result of oil spill contamination, it looks possible to determine if there is an elevated concentration of V and Ni in spill impacted areas compared to control areas. Two control sites, Wax Lake in the Atchafalaya Basin, and an area in the Gulf of Mexico near the Deepwater Horizon impact site, but sampled pre-spill, were compared to other sites, one known for most samples to have been impacted by the spill and other areas with more isolated contamination. Three different statistical techniques were used to compare possible impacted sites to control sites. The analyses covered ratios of V/Al, V/Fe, Ni/Al, and Ni/Fe to test for contamination, and Zn and Mg ratios to serve as control elements that should not be changed by a spill. Two of the three statistical methods generally supported the visibly oil impacted area had elevated concentrations of V and Ni. This work concludes that it may be possible to use these V and Ni ratios to determine areas of crude oil contamination of sediments in coastal areas.

▼ Environmental liability cases involving spilled or released petroleum products into ocean ecosystems require oil identification techniques that are unambiguous and conclusive, even in situations where oils have been subjected to secondary environmental processes, such as, evaporation and dissolution.
The ability and functionality of the Compound Specific Isotope Correlation (CSIC) technique is tested to determine its reliability to characterize released petroleum using the carbon isotope ratios (13C/12C) of the individual gasoline-range compounds (C5-C9). In particular, this thesis studies the potential of CSIC as a robust diagnostic tool, to identify and correlate marine releases of oil with their sources, especially those having undergone evaporative weathering.
Three crude oils (Alberta Sweet Mixed Blend, Lacula and Louisiana) added to synthetic seawater were exposed to mechanically simulated wave energy and controlled evaporative weathering at 10 °C. Time-series sampling of the gasoline-range vapour fractions from the headspace employed Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME). SPME-Continuous Flow-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (SPME-CF-IRMS) determined the molecular abundances and stable carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of the gasoline-range compounds of the original and weathered oils.
Evaporation rates over the maximum 20 hour period varied for the 3 study oils. Most (74%) of the individual compounds measured in the oils display a δ13C enrichment with progressive evaporation with approximately half of the compounds in all 3 oils showing fractionation of the carbon isotopes ≤ 0.5‰ within measurement precision. The magnitude of carbon isotope shift observed in compounds pre-vs. post-weathering ranges from 0 to 2.8 ±0.6‰. There is no clear relationship identified between the degree of 13C enrichment in the oils and groupings such as chemical class, structure or carbon number. The overall weighted average 13C enrichment for all compounds in the 3 oils is approximately 1‰. Toluene was the only compound consistently exhibiting comparatively high 13C enrichment (1.6‰, 1.8‰ and 2.8‰) in all 3 oils after evaporative weathering.
Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) treatment of the CSIC data set can reliably discriminate between the 3 oils despite evaporative weathering and δ13C changes. HCA is also able to unambiguously relate the three weathered oils back to their respective original unweathered oil.
Diagnostic shifts in δ13C of individual compounds in an oil may potentially be used to trace weathered oils back to the source, and possibly give a estimation of time since release. However the typically rapid rate of evaporation for the gasoline-range fractions limits the time that an oil can be successfully identified by CSIC.
Advisors/Committee Members: Whiticar, Michael J. (supervisor).

► Vegetable oil is one of the most widely available renewable sources of energy that can be used to meet the world?s demands. Many vegetable oils…
(more)

▼ Vegetable oil is one of the most widely available renewable sources of energy that can be used to meet the world?s demands. Many vegetable oils also have the advantage of containing little to no detectable amounts of nitrogen. Recently, research studies have revealed that when two liquids with different vapor pressure values are formed into droplet-like emulsions, a micro-explosion effect can happen under specific environmental conditions. Understanding the micro-explosion phenomena can help increase the efficiency of bio-emulsion combustion as well as reduce pollution levels. Many researchers have conducted experiments to find the optimal condition that induces microexplosion effects. Microexplosion is also associated with the formation of shock waves characteristic of explosions at larger scales. However, little is known about how emulsion composition and droplet size affect the micro-explosion process.
Through this research, methanol-in-vegetable oil emulsion has been studied from the microexplosion point of view using custom made electric furnace equipment with a high speed camera system and an acoustic sensor system. The main goal of this study is to understand the effect of emulsion compositions, chamber temperatures, and droplet sizes on the characteristics of microexplosion. First, an n-hexadecane-in-water emulsion was prepared to validate the performance of the custom-made experimental apparatus using previous published data. Methanol-in-canola oil emulsions with different compositions were also prepared and used to compare the micro-explosion phenomena with water as a volatile compound. Microexplosion events of the blended fuels were captured using a high speed camera and an acoustic sensor. The wave signals generated by the microexplosion were analyzed after converting the signals using a Fast Fourier Transform coded in Matlab.
One of the major findings of this research work was that higher temperatures and higher concentrations of high vapor pressure fluids such as methanol and water in emulsions causes a high probability of microexplosion event due to the sudden expansion of the emulsified fluid. Also, the effect of size on microexplosion was evident in the greater probability of explosion. Methanol-in-canola oil emulsion with 15 % methanol with droplets size of 200 ?m placed in a furnace chamber heated to 980 ?C showed optimal microexplosion behavior based on the formation of fine droplets. Also, smaller droplets produced higher frequencies, which could be used to detect microexplosion without high speed imaging. When large droplets microexploded, lower frequencies were detected in all the blends.
Advisors/Committee Members: Alvarado, Jorge L. (advisor), Annamalai, Kalyan (committee member), Capareda, Sergio (committee member).

► Solids-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions have been suggested as a drive fluid to recover viscous oil through a piston-like displacement pattern. While crude heavy oil was initially…
(more)

▼ Solids-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions have been suggested as a drive fluid to recover viscous oil through a piston-like displacement pattern. While crude heavy oil was initially suggested as the base oil, an alternative oil ? used engine oil was proposed for emulsion generation because of several key advantages: more favorable viscosity that results in better emulsion injectivity, soot particles within the oil that readily promote stable emulsions, almost no cost of the oil itself and relatively large supply, and potential solution of used engine oil disposal.
In this research, different types of used engine oil (mineral based, synthetic) were tested to make W/O emulsions simply by blending in brine. A series of stable emulsions was prepared with varied water contents from 40~70%. Viscosities of these emulsions were measured, ranging from 102~104 cp at low shear rates and ambient temperature. Then an emulsion made of 40% used engine oil and 60% brine was chosen for a series of coreflood experiments, to test the stability of this emulsion while flowing through porous media. Limited breakdown of the effluent was observed at ambient injection rates, indicating a stability of the emulsion in porous media. Pressure drops leveled off and remained constant at constant rate of injection, indicating steady-state flows under the experimental conditions. No plug off effect was observed after a large volume of emulsion passed through the cores.
Reservoir scale simulations were conducted for the emulsion flooding process based on the emulsion properties tested from the experiments. Results showed significant improvement in both displacement pattern and oil recovery especially compared to water flooding. Economics calculations of emulsion flooding were also performed, suggesting this process to be highly profitable.
Advisors/Committee Members: Lane, Robert (advisor), Bergbreiter, David (committee member), Dattagupta, Akhil, Hill, Alfred, Barrufet, Maria (committee member).

► Energy has been stated to be 'the oxygen of the economy and the lifeblood of growth' (World Economic Forum, 2012). The inflow of energy for…
(more)

▼ Energy has been stated to be 'the oxygen of the economy and the lifeblood of growth' (World Economic Forum, 2012). The inflow of energy for countries where domestic production is unable to meet domestic demand, is essential to keep their economies going and growing. Securing these supplies is thus of vital importance for these nations. The aim of this research was to combine and expand the research done by Yang et al (2014) and Aleklett et al (2010) by adding updated future external oil supply risk scenarios up to 2035, taking into account different climate- (CPS, NPS and 450) and oil-supply projections for the EU, the US, China, Japan and India (being the five largest importers of oil in the world). This research considered the risks associated with supplies from oil-exporting nations, as well as the potential exports in future oil supply of these nations and adds the concepts of 'peak oil' and long-term external oil-supply risks (EOSRs) to the model of Yang et al (2014) and Aleklett et al (2010). This report focussed on the following question: What is the impact of different climate- and oil supply scenarios on external oil supply risks for major oil-importing countries up to 2035?
Advisors/Committee Members: Crijns-Graus, W.H.J..

► Since the 2000s oil prices have become increasingly volatile, with exceptionally large price movements since 2007. A high price period in between 2010 and 2014…
(more)

▼ Since the 2000s oil prices have become increasingly volatile, with exceptionally large price movements since 2007. A high price period in between 2010 and 2014 fostered rapid growth of unconventional oil, in particular of tight oil in the USA. Since 2014 crude oil prices have dropped significantly again, and remained low up to at least 2016 (i.e. up to this report). The TIMER model developed by PBL does not reflect this volatility, instead it assumes continued low prices, just above marginal costs of production.
This report investigates the mismatch between historic oil price dynamics since 2007, which is the latest year up to which TIMER is calibrated and the TIMER model. Through a literature study and semi-structured interviews insight is sought into which factors within TIMER are missing or which ones could be improved. From this list a number of key factors are selected, from which a system dynamic model is built to assess their impact. The identified factors resulted in the development of a model that assesses the following two factors:
1. The effects of increasing costs of discoveries and production of conventional oil, and;
2. The effects of rapid growth of unconventional oil and decreased price elasticity of demand on the price of oil.
Depletion in discoveries are expressed as an effort per yield function, derived from historical data. This shows that over time marginal discoveries increase in cost exponentially. Likewise decline in existing field production requires a growing amount of capital stock to meet demanded supply quantities. Price elasticity of demand is observed to decline over time, which is expressed using exponential decay. The influx of multiple types of unconventional oil is entered exogenously in the model, as is oil demand. The cost of production and market price of oil are produced endogenously. The model is run from 1980 to 2020. Results from the model show that growing production and exploration costs form the main driver behind the high price of oil in the period between 2010 and 2014. The influx of unconventional oil coupled with reduced price elasticity of demand resulted in the subsequent price crash.
By using marginal costs of exploration and production as described in this thesis, TIMER is able to shift away from using long term cost-supply curves to determine future costs of oil production. Long term cost-supply curves contain significant uncertainties as they are sensitive to variations in estimated future reserve additions.
Advisors/Committee Members: Crijns-Graus, W..

► This study was to explore how employees of Tullow Oil Ghana communicated and exchanged information within the organization. The channels used, the exact strategies employed…
(more)

▼ This study was to explore how employees of Tullow Oil Ghana communicated and exchanged information within the organization. The channels used, the exact strategies employed to achieve effective internal communication as well as the role it played in accomplishing goals and objectives of the organization were particularly focused on.
Open-ended interviews with six employees from six different departments sought answers from informants while allowing useful insights. The majority of the respondents preferred face-to-face communication because interpersonal, dialogue communication remains important to employees at every level of the organization. They reasoned that though face-to-face meetings were time consuming, efficient face-to-face interaction with managers targeted at the internal audience give employees at all levels of the organization an understanding of the brand image and hence project this externally.
The study also noted that informants considered internal communication to be very important within the oil industry because it is risky; hence the need for continuos communication. It was also noted that the flow of information within Tullow Oil was effective; consequently respondents were satisfied with the communication strategies of Tullow Oil Ghana. Further, the study found that internal communication contributed greatly to the achievement of the organizational goals and objectives within Tullow Oil.
The regular temporary breakdown of the internet server is one major problem faced and the study recommends that a lasting solution must be found.

► The production of biodiesel using vegetables oils is studied. Palm oil and its use for production of biodiesel have been focused. Palm tree is…
(more)

▼ The production of biodiesel using vegetables oils is studied. Palm oil and its use for production of biodiesel have been focused. Palm tree is very productive and one of the most profitable for biodiesel production. Among the oilseed crops palm tree produce more oil per hectare. Palm oil has a good availability and a competitive price. The production of palm oil at the industrial plantation level has caused environmental damage. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has established principles and criteria in order to certify a sustainable cultivation of the palm oil. The experimental work involves the production of biodiesel using corn oil. Ethanol and methanol are used as alcohols. Sodium and potassium hydroxides are selected as catalyst. The ratio alcohol to oil is the most important parameter in the production of biodiesel. An excess of alcohol is required to drive the reaction to the right. In the experiments with ethanol the yield of biodiesel increased with the ratio ethanol/oil achieving the highest yield at a molar ratio ethanol/oil: 7.78. In the experiments with methanol, using 0.9 g NaOH and 1 hour reaction time the highest yield was obtained with a molar ratio methanol:oil = 9. Using KOH as catalyst and 2 hour reaction time a very good yield is already obtained with a molar ratio methanol:oil = 4.5 The amount of catalyst is another studied parameter. In the experiments with ethanol, the amount of 0.8 mg NaOH and 1.2 mg KOH for 200 ml corn oil (0.22 mol) is enough in order to obtain a good yield. An increase of the amount of catalyst does not produce an increase of the yield of biodiesel. In experiments with methanol, using the lowest tested amount catalyst (0.85 g KOH and 0.23 g NaOH) a good yield of biodiesel is obtained. The effects of the reaction time, rate of mixing and the reaction temperature were studied in the experiments with methanol. The yield of biodiesel increased when the reaction time is increased from 1 to 2 hours. The yield of produced biodiesel increased from 90% to 94% when the rate of mixing was increased from 500 to 1500 rpm. Often the transesterification is carried out at a temperature near the boiling point of alcohol. The highest yield was obtained at 60 oC with KOH and at 55 oC using NaOH but already at 40 oC a good yield was obtained (89%).

► The aftermath of the Kalamazoo River oil spill in 2010, which resulted in years of clean up efforts, showed that research needs to be done…
(more)

▼ The aftermath of the Kalamazoo River oil spill in 2010, which resulted in years of clean up efforts, showed that research needs to be done regarding oil particle aggregate (OPA) formation and transport in riverine environments. While three-dimensional hydrodynamic models can track the transport of OPAs with a high degree of accuracy, in the event of an oil spill, rapid response is necessary to protect the affected ecosystem and expedite clean-up efforts. In the rapid response model developed in this study, the river hydraulics is one-dimensional, and the formation and transport of OPAs are described stochastically via a random walk particle tracking algorithm. Application of the model to the Kalamazoo River resulted in estimations of the amount of settled oil, and the location of the centroid of the settled oil particles, that would be expected for different flow velocities. The main river parameter that influences the formation and subsequent settling of OPAs is the flow velocity, with higher velocities causing more OPA formation and settling rates enhancement due to greater amounts of suspended sediments. Additional work to extend to the practicality of the developed model was performed by linking the model to HEC-RAS, and the modified model was explored via an application to the Kalamazoo River.
Advisors/Committee Members: Garcia, Marcelo H (advisor).

► Soybean is an important crop with many important properties. The use of soybean varies from stock feed, biodiesel, edible oils and high protein food products,…
(more)

▼ Soybean is an important crop with many important properties. The use of soybean varies from stock feed, biodiesel, edible oils and high protein food products, to soil amendment resulting from its nitrogen fixing ability and is a profitable cash crop. Zambia has a number of soybean varieties which have been developed with little consideration to adaptation for oil and protein to varying environments. Based on this, the stability of protein and oil content of soybean was evaluated across the three agro ecological zones of Zambia. The main objective of the study was to identify environments for high soybean oil and protein content production. Multi-location field trials involving fifteen soybean genotypes obtained from IITA, ZARI and SeedCo were conducted during the 2013/ 2014 rain season at five locations across the three agro ecological zones of Zambia namely; Masumba in Region I, Msekera, Kabwe and Golden Valley Agriculture Research Trust (GART) in Region II and Misamfu in Region III. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used at each site and the oil and protein content was determined using Near Infrared Reflectance. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine statistical differences in performance of the genotypes for the studied traits while Additive Main Effect and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) Model was employed as a stability analysis tool. Results showed that both oil and protein content were significantly (p<0.05) affected by environments, genotypes and genotype by environment interactions, indicating differences in locations, presence of genetic variability among genotypes as well as the differential response of genotypes to environments. The mean oil content for the fifteen soybean genotypes ranged from 16.73% to 19.47% while the mean protein content ranged from 33.09% to 37.57%. In terms of locations, the highest mean oil content was obtained at Msekera (18.98%), while the lowest mean was from GART (16.38%). For protein content, the highest location mean was obtained from GART (38.23%) while the lowest was from Misamfu (33.47%). Msekera and GART can therefore be recommended for screening and production of genotypes with high oil and protein content respectively. AMMI indicated that the genotypes Lukanga, Safari, TGx 1988-22F and TGx 1740-2F were best suited for Msekera for high oil content while genotypes TGx 1830-20E, TGx 1987-23F, TGx 1887-65F and TGx 1988-22F were best suited for obtaining high protein content at GART. AMMI further indicated that TGx 1989-60F was the most stable genotype for oil content while for protein content, the genotypes TGx 1740-2F, Magoye and TGx 1988-18F were the most stable. These genotypes can be recommended for use as parental lines for developing soybean varieties that are stable for oil and protein content respectively.

► This study was developed to determine the distribution and fate of crude oil spilled from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig starting on April 24, 2010.…
(more)

▼ This study was developed to determine the distribution and fate of crude oil spilled from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig starting on April 24, 2010. Crude oil from this spill contaminated portions of Fourchon Beach, Louisiana which was the study site for this thesis. Understanding the fate processes that affect crude oil once it’s released is important because the compounds that comprise oil can be hazardous to humans and wildlife. Composite and small surface residual ball (SSRB) samples were collected from the supratidal zone of Fourchon Beach and analyzed for PAHs and alkanes. Alkane concentrations decreased significantly over time, while PAH concentrations demonstrated little to no signs of degradation. High dynamic resolution images of the sampling areas from the supratidal zone were analyzed for distribution of oil using advanced image processing and 16 of the 36 sampling areas had a 1% or greater coverage of oil. The oil coverage data based on image analysis was tested for statistical normality, log normality, and gamma distribution. The data failed both the normality and log normality tests, but passed the gamma distribution test resulting in a mean of 3.2% and 0.6% and standard error of 1.1% and 0.2% in Zones 3 and 2 respectively. SSRB, buried oil, and tarball samples were collected from the intertidal zone of Fourchon Beach. SSRB concentrations from the intertidal zone showed minor decrease over 4 months of sampling. However, total PAHs and total alkanes in SSRBs from intertidal zone were significantly lower when compared against SSRBs in the supratidal zone. Buried oil samples collected closest to the shoreline and those taken on the later sampling dates had a lower concentration of PAHs and alkanes than those collected at earlier sampling dates and further away from the shoreline. Tarball samples collected in the intertidal zone demonstrated decreasing concentrations of PAHs and alkanes over the course of the sampling dates. These results indicate that degradation of crude oil at Fourchon Beach is occurring, but future sampling needs to occur at Fourchon Beach to determine the long term impacts of the oil deposited there.